The general aim of the work described in this report is to increase our knowledge of the potential teratogenic and cytotoxic effect of ophthalmic drugs. The misconception based on the unproven idea that the amount of ophthalmic absorbed in the blood was too small to cause malformation has been disproven. It is now accepted on the basis of our experimental data that medication such as IDU, when administered topically to the eye in doses similar to those used clinically, 0.1% four times a day for twelve days, cause teratogenic effect. On this basis, it is of the utmost importance that other potentially teratogenic ophthalmic preparations be fully and systemically evaluated to rule out toxicity or teratogenicity. Of even greater importance is the fact that experimental models and techniques have been developed and proven efficient to evaluate the teratogenicity, cytotoxicity and cataracto-genicity of all ophthalmic medications.